A serious proposal to the Ladies, for the advancement of their true and greatest interest (In Two Parts)Astell, Mary
Religion
A serious proposal to the Ladies, for the advancement of their true and greatest interest (In Two Parts)
Astell, Mary
Feminism -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century -- Sources; Women's rights -- Great Britain -- History -- 18th century -- Sources
Whether there is not in us an Inclination to do what is _Fit_, that is
to think and Act agreeably to a Rational Nature, without considering
our own particular advantage I shall not here dispute. For whether
this be so or no, ’tis certain that in our present Circumstances, we
cannot separate _Fit_ and _Good_ in Reality, tho we may have distinct
Ideas of them. What is really proper for Rational Creatures to do,
tending necessarily to their Happiness, and nothing being able to make
them truly Happy but that which is fit to be done. Besides, so pure an
Inclination being wholly abstracted from Self-Love and Prejudice is not
subject to any Irregularity, and so needs not be spoken of here; and
perhaps so few are acquainted with it, that it will hardly be known
what we mean by it.
An Inclination therefore after Happiness is that to which we shall at
present reduce all the rest; which Happiness we pursue by removing
as far as we can from that which is uneasie to us, and by uniting
our selves as much as we are able to some Good which we suppose we
want. The former of these being indeed a pursuit of Good, tho not
so Directly as the latter. Good then is the Object of the Will, and
hitherto one wou’d think there were no probability of our straying from
the Will of GOD, and that there were so little need of advising us
to Will as GOD Wills that it is impossible we shou’d Will otherwise;
because whenever we oppose our Wills to his, we change in a manner the
very Constitution of our Nature and fly from that Happiness which we
wou’d pursue.
But the misfortune is as has been once observ’d already, that we
Will e’re we are capable of examining the Reasons of our Choice, or
of viewing our Ideas so exactly as we must if we wou’d Judge aright.
And the frequent repetition of such unreasonable Choices makes them
Customary to us, and consequently gives a new and wrong bias to our
Inclinations, which upon all occasions dispose the Will to the Choice
of such things as we suppose, tho by mistake, to contribute to our
Happiness. Add to this, that the Passions which are certain Commotions
in the Bloud and Animal Spirits accompanying these Inclinations,
design’d in the Order of Nature for the good of the Body, as the
Inclinations were intended for the Good of the Soul, do so unite
us to sensible things, and represent ’em with such advantage, that
Spiritual Good which seems at a greater distance relishes very little,
and abstracted Truths do not find us so Impartial as to examin them
throughly, and to give them their due Weight, when they’re ballanc’d
against such things as may be Seen and Felt; these being commonly
preferr’d, not for their intrinsic worth, but for their outward Shew
and the Bulk they carry.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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